


pool full of liquor

by thekardemomme



Category: SKAM (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff and Humor, Heavy Drinking, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-23 09:38:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12504464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thekardemomme/pseuds/thekardemomme
Summary: Isak gets drunk and runs away from his friends, and Even seizes the opportunity to be his knight in shining armor. May as well be Shakespeare.





	pool full of liquor

**Author's Note:**

> dedicated to several of my lovely friends:  
> • megan, who’s screenshots inspired this story  
> • wyonna, who encouraged me and gave me ideas and always supports my work  
> • shola, who encouraged me  
> • paula, who offered to sell me her soul if i wrote this (i hope it was good enough?)  
> • mack, who encouraged me too and also always supports me 
> 
> title from swimming pools by kendrick

Mikael, clad in green pajama pants (that featured the Grinch) and a bright red hoodie, practically slams the window shut. Even startles, though he really should’ve expected it. Everyday since freshmen orientation week, there’s been pack after pack of piss drunk freshmen walking around everywhere. Even now, after classes have started, the clubs and the bars and the streets are _filled_ with them. It’s been hard to get shit done when you hear at least seven freshmen vomiting underneath your window every evening, like clockwork.

“Can they go home now?” Mikael mumbles, practically storming back across the room as he slumps down at his desk. “I know that was us just two years ago, but like. I totally sympathize with the second and third years that gave us shit when we were freshmen.”

“Freshmen are the worst,” Even says, barely even listening to Mikael’s rant. It’s not that he doesn’t care, it’s just that Mikael rants a lot. All the time, about everything. His favorite topics are capitalism and Karl Marx, but freshmen and uni course-loads are also frequent guest stars. Even’s learned how to listen just enough to satisfy Mikael, but distracted enough to keep writing his papers or doing research or editing a short film.

Mikael snorts. “Damn straight. I swear, they get worse every year.” He looks over at Even, and Even looks up from his laptop, raising his eyebrows. “It’s fucking October, dude. A Wednesday in the middle of October. What the hell?”

“Don’t ask me, I’m not out there getting drunk. I’m editing my film for my directing class. Also, considering a drop of alcohol has not touched my lips since third year, I don’t know if—”

“Yeah, yeah, Mr. Holier Than Thou,” Mikael sighs, spinning around in his chair. The chairs are provided and they squeak like a fucking bitch, possibly even more of a nuisance than the drunk freshmen. Possibly. Maybe. “Whatever. Get back to your paper.”

“My _film_? You’re the one who’s supposed to be writing a paper.”

Mikael’s eyes go wide. “What the fuck? I thought my short film was due on Tuesday?!”

“My short film is due Tuesday. Your paper is due tomorrow.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“Not even a little bit, buddy,” Even teases, unable to hold back laughter when Mikael throws a water bottle across the room and manhandles his laptop into his lap, muttering something about dropping out and becoming a male stripper. Even wouldn’t be unsupportive of that career. Mikael could probably do pretty well in that profession.

When he looks back to his laptop, it’s at the same time that a Facebook notification pops up. Even groans as soon as he sees it’s the freshmen Facebook group he’d been forced to be apart of, considering he’s a freshmen representative. He clicks on the notification and expects it to be Millie, the girl who always gets lost on campus, or Anders, who’s always inviting people over for beer only to complain two hours later that no one showed up.

Surprisingly, it’s neither of them. And it’s not any others that have used the group before. It’s Jonas Noah Vasquez, a guy Even’s only met in person once or twice, but a guy that Even’s envied due to extensive Instagram stalking. He’s jealous of more than just Jonas’s punk rock skater boy aesthetic, and even more than his sick ass eyebrows. What he’s really, really jealous of is the fact that Jonas gets to spend everyday with the love of Even’s life. Isak Valtersen.

Isak was this super annoying freshman that Even met on the first day. He was the type of guy to spend hours studying and forget to eat, to criticize everyone’s life choices if they weren’t somehow academia related or influenced, to go to the library every other day by choice. Isak had used the Facebook group quite a bit, to form study groups and whatnot, and everyone was a little irked by him (probably because he was easily smarter than anybody else that any of them had ever met). Even was absolutely in love with him.

 

**Jonas Noah Vasquez ▶︎ Freshmen 2017/18**

_Hi everyone, my roommate_ **Isak Valtersen** _is really fucking drunk and has escaped from us, and has climbed a fence outside the gay bar on campus. Can you help us find him._

 

Speak of the sun and it shines.

Even practically tosses his laptop onto his desk, rushing over to his wardrobe to grab nicer sweatpants (the ones he was currently wearing had a hole in the crotch and a ketchup stain on the right thigh) and a warmer hoodie. Mikael stares up at him like he’s just grown two heads.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“Did you see the freshmen’s Facebook notification?” He asks, and Mikael shakes his head a bit. “Jonas, you know, the guy who’s friends with Isak?”

“The guy I’ve been fucking since orientation week? Yes, I recall.”

“He’s just posted and said that Isak is drunk, jumped a fence or something. And they need help finding him. Think about it!” He exclaims, when Mikael starts rolling his eyes and shaking his head. “This is my chance, Mik! I can swoop in and be the knight in shining armor! Just, you know, without the horse and the chainmail and the bullshit codes of chivalry.”

“Or you’ll be the creep who chased after some drunk guy in the dark.”

“They’re asking for help!” Even points out, gesturing to his laptop. “That is literally asking people to help. And it’s my moral duty as a freshmen rep to help out the freshmen, right? I take my responsibilities very seriously.”

Mikael snorts. “Yeah, was that true last week when Millie was having her fifth crisis of the day? And you suddenly had a sinus infection that lasted a whole two hours.”

Even laughs, pulling on his shoes and tying the laces twice. “The medical field has made some impressive advances in the strength of their antibiotics?” He attempts, but he knows Mikael isn’t going to take any of his bullshit. He’ll have to go for flattery. “Come on, Mik. I’ve been pining after this boy for ages. This is my chance! You had your chance with Jonas, why can’t I have my chance with Isak?”

“Bro, if you want a chance with Isak, just come with me next time I hang out with Jonas. There’s a lot easier way to go about this, easier than chasing down a guy who hopped a fence.”

Even rolls his eyes, grabbing his keys, wallet, and phone. Surely by now Mikael would know that Even would never accept some lame meeting story like being introduced by friends or meeting on a dating app. Isak is a person straight out of an epic romance (think about it: blond curls, pretty pink lips, tall and lanky, beautiful and yet so so unreachable for the naïve boy who’s infatuated with him; this might as well be Shakespeare) and their story deserves something worthy of that title, too. Isak deserves nothing less than a love story that can be written in a book, or like, put on NRK or something.

“Come on, Mikael. If nothing else, this kid is super drunk and could get hurt on his own.”

“I’m already in my pajamas!” Mikael protests, shoving his thumb into one of the many Grinch faces on his pants. “Like are you fucking serious?”

“Am I ever not serious when it comes to love? Especially the love of my life?”

Mikael sighs, turning back to his paper and clearly giving up the fight. Even figures it’s probably for the best. He may not be able to convince Mikael to go with him, but Mikael can’t convince Even not to go. “Just go, man. I’ll keep the door unlocked for you.”

Even doesn’t need to be told twice. He rushes out the door, making his way to the gay bar. He’s just barely left the house when he checks the post again, to find more notifications.

 

_Seen by 39 people._

**Magnus Fossbakken (7m ago):**   
_lmaoooo_

**Eva Kviig Mohn (4m ago):**   
_is he ok??_

**Jonas Noah Vasquez (2m ago):**   
_I’ve found him, but he’s still on the run_

**Jonas Noah Vasquez (2m ago):**   
_Third year dorms!_

 

Third year dorms. Even’s dorms. Even stops in his tracks, turning towards the blocks of buildings he’d just left. He walks around the brick sidewalks, turning corners and calling Isak’s name, trying to find the boy. He runs into Jonas, coincidentally, a mere 10 minutes into searching the area.

Jonas screams when the flashlight on Even’s phone meets his eyes, which in turn makes Even jump a mile out of his skin. “Shit, bro, it’s just me. Even Bech Næsheim? You’re fucking my— I mean, dating... I mean... Listen, I don’t really know what you two are doing, but um, you’ve been _seeing_ my friend Mikael?”

Recognition covers Jonas’s face, even makes his tinge a little pink. “Oh, right. You’re one of the reps,” Jonas clarifies, and Even nods. “So, you’re out here looking for Isak?” Even nods again. “Damn. Isak would lose his shit if he knew you were out here looking for him.”

Even’s heart clenches. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. He knew it was too good to be true. Isak will just think he’s a fucking weirdo, or a stalker, or a rep who involves himself too much in the lives of freshmen because he’s scared of growing older and getting closer to graduation. God, he’s so fucking stupid. He should’ve known better than to let himself hope.

“Oh? Would he find it weird?” Even asks, struggling to keep his voice level. “I mean, I’m a rep, you know? I was just trying to help, but if..”

“Weird? God, no,” Jonas laughs. “Anything except that, probably. It would make his day. He’d probably die on the spot if you, like, talked to him.”

“....Oh.”

Jonas smiles, gesturing towards the rest of the dorms. “We should keep looking. Maybe with you and I teamed up, we’ll actually stand a chance at finding the dumbfuck,” Jonas sighs, and Even nods. He doesn’t think he could get his voice to work right now if he wanted to.

They search around the dorms for twenty minutes, even going into a couple of lobbies and asking anyone in the room if they’d see a drunk (cherub) boy come running through. They hit dead end after dead end until they hit Even’s dorm building and spot Isak in the lobby, pressing the button by the elevator and leaning heavily against the wall.

Even and Jonas burst into the room, and Isak spins around with wide eyes. “Even!” Isak slurs, stumbling over and slinging his arms around Even’s shoulders. Even awkwardly returns the hug, trying not to commit the smell to memory. Sober Isak smells like fairy dust and cologne and new books. Drunk Isak smells like booze and a bit of vomit. “I missed you!”

Jonas just laughs as Even awkwardly pets Isak’s back, trying not to give away that he doesn’t actually feel awkward at all. “I..missed you too?” Even says quietly, and Isak pulls back just enough to let Even see him smile. He has a beautiful smile, and beautiful lips that Even wouldn’t mind kissing, gaps between his teeth that Even wants to tongue at (except maybe after Isak’s brushed his teeth and used mouthwash, because really, his breath does smell a bit like vomit, and Even isn’t a risk taker).

“You’re pretty,” Isak mumbles, running his fingers over Even’s eye, nearly poking it multiple times. “You have pretty eyelashes. I wish I had pretty eyelashes like that. Everything about you is pretty. Your eyes and your nose and your mouth.” He moves his hands to Even’s hair, twirling strands around his fingers.

Jonas steps in, lightly pulling on Isak’s arm. It results in Isak whining and pressing his face into Even’s chest, holding him close. “Isak, man, come on,” Jonas urges. “You’re drunk off your ass. You need to go back to the dorm and drink some water and go to sleep.”

“No!” Isak whines petulantly. “I wanna stay here with Even.”

“Even doesn’t want you here,” Jonas says, and Isak just pouts. It takes everything Even has within him to keep from laughing as he gently rubs Isak’s back. “And I know for a fact that Mikael doesn’t want you here.”

“Fuck Mikael. That’s what you do best,” Isak spits, and burrows further into Even’s chest.

Jonas looks pissed, ready to snap right back, say fuck all, so Even jumps in before he can. “If you want to go get Mikael and take him back to your dorm, I can take Isak upstairs,” Even offers, and Jonas’s eyes widen. “I’d let you have my dorm but I don’t think I can drag Isak all the way back to freshmen dorms, you know...”

“Yeah,” Jonas says, nodding a little but smirking a lot. “Yeah, sure. Let me text him and then we’ll be out of your hair.”

Ten minutes later and Isak is dressed in Even’s clothes, drinking water in Even’s bed. He looks soft and sleepy, eyes drooping as he slowly sips from the glass Even had given him.

“Are you feeling better?” Even asks, taking his hoodie off and putting on a thinner t-shirt. The colder it gets outside means the warmer it is in the dorm room, and it’s still true. But Even would rather be warm than cold, so.

Isak nods a little, setting the glass of water aside and making grabby hands. Even has to squeeze his fist tight to keep himself from giving in. He doesn’t want to take advantage of Isak when he’s drunk, even if it is just cuddles.

“Maybe when you’re not so drunk,” Even says gently, taking Isak’s glass and putting it on the counter.

The younger boy whines, and Even can’t hold back the smile. “But Even! I’ve been waiting for so long! I’m not asking to fucking fuck you, I just wanna cuddle. You smell like berries.”

“Berries, yeah?”

Isak nods, burrowing into Even’s duvet. Even reminds him to lay on his side and Isak obliges, but keeps looking up at Even. “Yeah. You know what you and berries have in common?”

“What’s that?”

“I love berries. And I love you.” Isak smiles again, dopily and loose from the alcohol. “I wish you would come kiss me. Will you kiss me in the morning? When I’m not drunk? I’ll even brush my teeth _three hundred_ times.” He puckers his lips and makes a bunch of kissy noises before collapsing into giggles.

Even climbs into Mikael’s bed, warm and happy feelings swirling in his tummy as if he’s the one that’s drunk. “We’ll see in the morning, okay? We’ll see if you still love me when you’re sober, or if you love berries more.” He reaches over to turn off the lamp. “Goodnight, Isak.”

“Goodnight, Even.”

  
—

  
In the morning, Even wakes up last. It’s Thursday, so he doesn’t have a class until noon, and he wakes up at 9:33. He nearly goes back to sleep before remembering the night before, and he shoots up out of bed so quickly that he nearly gives himself whiplash.

His bed is empty.

There’s an Isak-shaped print in his sheets, and the smell of booze still lingers, but there’s no Isak in sight. It’s incredibly disappointing, realizing that maybe Isak does love berries more than him, or that Isak doesn’t actually love him at all. It’s been debated for a while over whether alcohol is a truth serum or something that makes lies slip past your lips, and so far, Even has inconclusive results. All alcohol does is confuse everything.

He climbs out of bed and digs for his phone, opening up the Facebook group. There’s more comments added to Jonas’s posts by now.

 

**Vilde Hellerud Lien (6h ago):**   
_Did you find him???_

**Magnus Fossbakken (6h ago):**   
_updates?_

**Mikael Øverlie Boukhal (1h ago):**   
_Isak is safe and sound_

**Jonas Noah Vasquez (19m ago):**   
_^^^_

 

He’s about to type out his own comment when the door creaks open. He looks up to see Isak standing there, still clad in Even’s clothes, a toothbrush and toothpaste in hand. When he realizes that Even’s awake, he gives a shy smile. Drunk, confident Isak is cute; but bashful Isak is even cuter.

“I, uh, just went to brush my teeth. I borrowed your toothpaste, I hope you don’t mind. I found an extra toothbrush in your bag as well. Sorry for snooping, I just...” Isak clears his throat, his cheeks going an even deeper red. He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “I couldn’t wash them three hundred times, unfortunately.”

Even laughs. “What a pity. I’ll never be able to kiss you now.”

Isak’s eyes widen, like he didn’t realize that Even would remember everything, even though Even was the sober one. “Right. Um,” Isak coughs awkwardly, “I’m sorry about last night, by the way. If I was sober, I would’ve been a lot more chill about coming onto you.”

“You would’ve?” Even teases. “Then how come you haven’t yet?”

Isak splutters, “I just— I haven’t— We never talk! We don’t really hang around the same people, besides Mikael and Jonas, and-and—”

“Chill, Isak. I’m just fucking with you.”

“Fuck you,” Isak pouts, moving closer. He sits on Even’s bed, and Even comes over to sit next to him. “I still like you more than berries, though. That’s one thing I wasn’t wrong about.”

Even smiles. “Well, I think that negates the fact that you didn’t live up to your promise of brushing your teeth three hundred times. Don’t you think?”

“You think that’s equal?”

“Yeah,” Even admits. “Even if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t matter. I just really wanna kiss you.”

“Do it, then.”

Even isn’t sure, in the end, who kisses who. But that doesn’t matter much, either. What does matter is that the both of them keep kissing each other for the rest of the morning, until Even has to go to class and Isak heads back to his own dorm. Of course, they don’t depart without both a goodbye kiss and a comment on the Facebook post that brought them together. Perhaps Facebook is the new love letter sent by carrier pigeon. It’s just as epic, in Even’s opinion.

 

**Isak Valtersen (3m ago):**   
_thx everyone, im all good, thanks to even ;)_

**Even Bech Næsheim (1m ago):**   
_;)_

**Even Bech Næsheim (just now):**

****

 

**Author's Note:**

> kudos & comments are, as always, appreciated 
> 
> find me on tumblr: femmevilde


End file.
